Baseball Looks to Close Home Stand on High Note Against Missouri State

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball closes out a four-game home stand with a nonconference matchup against Missouri State Tuesday (April 23) evening at Taylor Stadium.

The Tigers (18-23) are coming off a 2-2 week that included a road victory over MSU (17-21) in Springfield last Tuesday, as well as their sixth one-run victory in SEC play with an 8-7 decision over defending national champion LSU on Saturday. 

Tuesday’s game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Noah Reed and Jack McGrath calling the action. All Mizzou baseball games in 2024 will be produced by the Tiger Radio Network and streamed live through the Varsity Network App (by searching ‘Missouri’) with Tex Little and Matt Michaels once again handling broadcast duties.

TICKETS

• Single-Game Tickets – bit.ly/42VxrsJ

PITCHING PROBABLES

• TBD (Mizzou) vs. TBD (Missouri State)

SERIES HISTORY

• Missouri brings a 33-31 all-time series edge over Missouri State into Tuesday’s game.
• The Tigers notched a 6-2 victory last Tuesday in their first matchup of 2024 with the Bears in Springfield.
• Jackson Lovich led the Missouri offense with a 3-for-5 performance that included a key RBI single as part of the Tigers’ two-run first inning, as well as a seventh-inning home run that helped seal the win.
• Additionally, six Mizzou pitchers combined to limit the Bears to two runs, led by Daniel Wissler’s strong 4 1/3 inning stint to open the contest.
• MU claimed both meetings with the Bears last spring, including a 10-1 rout of MSU at Hammons Field (April 11) and a 7-6 walk-off victory in Columbia (April 18).
• The Tigers hold a 19-14 edge in games played against the Bears in Columbia, including four wins in their last five meetings at Taylor Stadium, dating back to 2018.
• Mizzou has won eight of the last 10 meetings overall since 2018.
• Tigers head coach Kerrick Jackson is a perfect 1-0 in his career vs. Missouri State, which will be led for the final time in the rivalry by 42-year head coach Keith Guttin, who brings a 31-31 career coaching mark vs. Mizzou into the contest.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

• Missouri posted a 30-24 regular-season finish last spring, including a 10-20 SEC mark.
• Kerrick Jackson was named the 15th head coach in Mizzou history in June, returning to Columbia to lead a program for which he served as an assistant coach from 2011-15 under Mizzou Hall of Fame head coach (and current pitching coach) Tim Jamieson.
• The Tigers return three regular starters from last season, led by senior INF/OF Trevor Austin, who batted .311 with eight homers and 10 steals to help bolster the MU offense.
• Senior INF Matt Garcia turned in a solid debut season with the Tigers, providing clutch hitting and lock-down defense on the MU infield.
• MU should also receive a lift from sophomore INF Jackson Lovich and junior OF Juju Stevens, who each made key contributions in limited duty in 2023.
• Several newcomers could also make early contributions, including junior INF Danny Corona, who helped Wake Forest to a 2023 College World Series berth, C Jedier Hernandez, a standout behind the plate for Seton Hall the last two seasons, and sophomore OF Jeric Curtis, a Texas Tech transfer who brings significant speed to the Tiger outfield and batting order.
• On the mound, sophomore RHP Logan Lunceford is back to help anchor Mizzou’s weekend rotation after posting 68 strikeouts to lead all SEC freshman hurlers last spring.
• Junior LHP Javyn Pimental also contributed mightily to the Tigers’ mound efforts in 2023, making eight starts for the Tigers.
• Mizzou should also benefit from the potential return of a pair of veterans who missed significant time last spring; left-hander Ian Lohse and RHP Carter Rustad missed significant portions of 2023 due to injury following promising starts to the campaign.
• New arms like RHP Xavier Lovett and RHP Bryce Mayer could compete for starting rotation spots, while RHP Jacob Peaden may give the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen a strong presence.

MIZZOU BY THE NUMBERS

• Missouri is coming off a 30-win campaign last spring, which marked the 20th time the Tigers reached the 30-win plateau in the last 30 seasons, as well as the 35th time overall.
• 1B Jackson Lovich and 2B Matt Garcia share the SEC lead with three triples on the season.
• The Tigers’ 10 triples this season rank second in the SEC.
• Lovich recorded a career-best 13-game hit streak, February 24-March 15, batting .388 (19-for-49).
• After a slow start to the conference season, Garcia has been red-hot in SEC play over the last two weekends, hitting a combined .435 (10-for-23) with six RBIs in the Tigers six contests against Georgia (April 11-13) and LSU (April 19-21).
• Garcia turned in his best weekend of SEC play to date at Georgia, leading the Tigers with a .500 batting average, including a career-best four-hit performance in the series opener; he drove in a pair of runs in that contest, then went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the finale, belting his first home run of the season as well.
• For the week of April 8-14, Garcia went 8-of-17 (.474) with a .824 slugging percentage.
• INF Brock Daniels has been Mizzou’s hottest hitter in the month of April, batting .420 (21-of-50) with 19 RBIs and six steals in helping the Tigers go 8-5.
• Daniels, who ranks fourth in the SEC with four sacrifice flies on the season, brings a career-best nine-game hit streak into Tuesday’s game. The sophomore from St. Louis has hit .417 (15-for-36) and driven in 10 runs over the course of the streak (dating back to April 7).
• OF Jackson Beaman has been the Tigers’ most dangerous hitter in nonconference play with a .421 average in 16 non-SEC games this spring.
• C Jedier Hernandez has also enjoyed hitting in Columbia, registering a .367 batting mark ant 16 RBIs in his first 16 appearances at Taylor.
• LHP Ryan Magdic has proven to be a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, securing either a save or a victory in each of his last three relief appearances (April 6-20).
• Magdic turned in a dominant 3.1 inning stint to lift Mizzou to a 6-5 win over Georgia in 10 innings on April 12, then closed out the Tigers’ 8-7 victory over LSU on Saturday.
• LHP Ian Lohse turned in a pair of scoreless outings last week, including 3.0 innings Sunday vs. LSU in his first start since March 25, 2023.
• The Tigers rank fourth in the conference in stolen bases (53).
• INF Trevor Austin leads the club with nine home runs, topping his previous season high (2023) with a three-run blast April 12 at Georgia, hiking his career total to 25 round-trippers.
• Austin has been hit by 14 pitches so far this season, ranking third in the SEC; additionally, his total of six sacrifice bunts is tied for third in the conference.
• The Tigers are 9-5 in one-run contests this spring, including a 6-1 mark in SEC play.
• Mizzou is hitting .295 as a team with two outs, logging 101 of its 217 RBIs on the year after the second out in an inning has been recorded.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE

• Led by 42nd-year head coach Keith Guttin, the Bears enter the week 17-21 overall after claiming two of three Missouri Valley Conference contests from Valparaiso over the weekend.
• The Bears are hitting .276 as a team, led by sophomore OF Zack Stewart’s .331 average and 16 home runs.
• Freshman OF Caden Bogenpohl has added 14 round-trippers for the Bears, who have clubbed 68 homers through just 38 contests.
• On the mound, RHP Brandt Thompson heads the weekend rotation with his 5-0 season mark and 2.41 ERA. RHP Kaleb Thomas and RHP Hunter Day have been MSU’s most consistent weapons out of the bullpen, logging a combined 30 appearances and 61.1 total innings.

TARGET: TREVOR

• INF Trevor Austin has made a habit of reaching base throughout his four-year career with the Tigers, particularly when it comes to serving as a target, logging 43 free bases due to hit by pitches.
• Austin, the SEC’s active leader in HBPs, was hit by a pitch in Saturday’s home victory over LSU, running his 2024 total to 14 HBPs, which ranks third in the SEC.
• As a result, the Jefferson City native has climbed into a tie for third place on Mizzou’s all-time HBP chart, matching Jacob Priday’s (2005-08) career total.
• Austin is eight HBPs away from matching John Hay (1989-93) in the No. 2 position on the list.
• John McKee (2004-07) owns the Tigers’ all-time mark of 70 HBPs.

FRESH LOOK

• Mizzou has received contributions from up and down its roster, and the Tigers’ talented crop of freshmen have been some of their most consistent performers.
• MU’s five primary freshman position players — SS Drew Culbertson, DH Thomas Curry, OF Tucker Moore, OF Kaden Peer and C Mateo Serna — have each made significant contributions in their rookie seasons.
• Culbertson logged hits in six straight games (April 7-16), including three consecutive two-hit performances.
• For the year, Culbertson has recorded seven multi-hit outings to date, swiping nine bases (in 11 attempts), while making 31 starts for the Tigers.
• Curry has hit four homers, which is good for fourth on the club, and notched four multi-RBI efforts, while drawing 16 walks.
• Curry, who has logged time as the Tigers’ cleanup hitter while starting 22 contests to date, recorded a four-RBI afternoon vs. Northern Kentucky (March 3) and registered four multi-hit performances in his first 10 collegiate games.
• Moore has spent time in the leadoff spot in the MU batting order, recording four multi-hit performances and reaching base safely in 21 of his 28 games.
• Peer has heated up in April, hitting .270 with two home runs and a pair of three-RBI games in SEC play this month.
• Serna has drawn 13 starts behind the plate as a rookie. The Floridian has recorded hits in each of his last four starts, including a key homer in an April 16 win at MSU.
• The Tigers have received contributions from a trio of freshman hurlers as well, with RHP Charlie Miller logging 12 strikeouts over 10.2 innings and RHP Josh McDevitt making three starts. Additionally, RHP Ben Smith has made a pair of relief appearances for MU.

APRIL ACCOLADES

• Mizzou is off to an 8-5 start to the month of April, making it the Tigers’ most successful month of the 2024 season to date.
• In SEC play, the Tigers have won five of their nine April contests, including a three-game sweep of No. 6 Florida (April 5-7), an extra-innings road win over Georgia (April 12) and an 8-7 victory over defending national champion LSU this past weekend.
• With its .615 winning percentage this month, April also marks MU’s best overall month since March 2023, when the Tigers finished 13-5 (.722).
• The Tigers have not posted a .500 month of April since 2019, when they went 12-5 (.706).
• As a team, the Tigers have hit .275 and averaged 6.8 runs per April contest.
• INF Brock Daniels has been MU’s most productive hitter this month, going 21-for-50 (.420) with three home runs and 19 RBIs.
• INF Matt Garcia has been red hot in April as well, raising his average from .167 to .259 by going 18-for-48 with 14 RBIs this month, including five multi-hit performances.
• INF Trevor Austin has reached base safely in 12 of 13 April games, recording hits in 10 of those, while logging a team-high .468 on-base percentage.
• LHP Ryan Magdic has emerged as a dominant force out of the MU bullpen in recent weeks, including three April relief outings over which he has fanned 10 hitters and allowed just two runs over 6.0 combined innings, earning a victory and two saves.

TERRIFIC WITH TWO

• The Tigers have been clutch this season with two out, both at the plate and on the mound.
• Mizzou’s offense has recorded 101 two-out RBIs in just 41 games, while hitting .295 (143-for-484) after the second out has been recorded in an inning.
• This past weekend vs. LSU, MU went 10-for-33 (.303) with two out, scoring seven two-out runs in Saturday’s 8=7 victory.
• The weekend of April 11-13 at Georgia, the Tigers hit .325 (13-for-40) with two out, producing 11 RBIs.
• Against vs. No. 6 Florida, Mizzou recorded eight two-out RBIs, including all four of its runs in its game two victory (April 6).
• INF Brock Daniels and OF Jackson Beaman have been MU’s most consistent two-out threats, hitting .545 (12-for-22) and .400 (10-for-25) in such situations, respectively.
• Mizzou pitchers have been equally dominant, holding the opposition to a collective .218 (98-for-449) two-out batting average this spring.

SEEING DOUBLE

• The Tigers’ April resurgence has been boosted significantly by a pair of Brocks: RHP Brock Lucas and INF Brock Daniels.
• Lucas, a sophomore from St. Elizabeth, Mo., enters the week with a 4-0 mound mark and team-best 2.73 ERA.
• Earlier this spring, Lucas posted a string of 11 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings (March 17-April 2).
• Lucas has limited the opposition to a minuscule .200 opponent batting average.
• In his 12 outings, Lucas has logged seven scoreless appearances, including three extending at least 4.0 frames.
• Similarly, Daniels has been a dominant force at the plate for the Tigers, particularly in the month of April, when the St. Louis native has registered seven multi-hit performances in his 13 games.
• Daniels has produced 19 of his 24 RBIs over the same stretch and has raised his overall season batting average 151 points (from .211 to .362).
• Daniels brings a career-best nine-game hit streak into Tuesday’s game, hitting .417 (15-for-36) over the same stretch.

NON-CON DOMINATION

• Mizzou has claimed 12 nonconference victories over the first 10 weeks of the season, continuing a string of recent dominance in nonconference play.
• MU logged a 20-3 mark against non-SEC foes last spring, after going 18-3 in nonconference in 2022.
• MU has an overall mark of 50-17 in non-SEC competition since the start of the 2022 season.
• Over the last decade, the Tigers’ dominance has been equally impressive, with MU winning 100 more nonconference games than it has lost (177-77).

TICKETS
Mizzou baseball 2024 single-game tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com/Tickets.

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